Firsts and Founders: The Women in US History Quiz

Abigail Adams told us to "not forget the ladies," but some of these amazing Americans have been left behind by history. Take this quiz to test how well you know the women who shaped our nation and to learn a bit more about those you might've missed.

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Question 1 of 30

What social work pioneer won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931?

Jane Addams

Addams, the founder of Hull House, also helped found the American Civil Liberties Union.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Greta von Wingding

Question 2 of 30

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was an civil rights advocate and crusader at the turn of the last century. What was her profession?

nurse

journalist

Wells-Barnett began her career teaching but became a prominent journalist.

professor

Question 3 of 30

Mary Church Terrell founded what organization?

Daughters of the American Revolution

National Association of Colored Women

Terrell, who founded the National Association of Colored Women, graduated from Oberlin College in 1884.

Teach for America

Question 4 of 30

Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to complete what athletic activity?

run a four-minute mile

compete in Olympic weightlifting

swim the English Channel

Not only did she swim the Channel in 1926, but she also broke the men's record by nearly two hours.

Question 5 of 30

What woman was the first to be picked as a vice president on a presidential ticket?

Sarah Palin

Geraldine Ferraro

Ferraro ran with Walter Mondale in 1984.

Joan Adams

Question 6 of 30

Mae Jemison was the first African-American woman to …

get her medical degree

graduate from Harvard University

become an astronaut

In 1992 Jemison became the first African-American woman in space.

Question 7 of 30

Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the first …

female artist to win a MacArthur genius grant

female chief of a major Native American tribe in modern times

Mankiller led the Cherokee nation, beginning in 1985.

Native American female opera singer

Question 8 of 30

Who was the highest-ranking female elected official when she became speaker of the House?

Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi also managed to raise five children while achieving the highest office in Congress.

Hillary Clinton

Condoleezza Rice

Question 9 of 30

Rossana Rosado was the first female editor, publisher and CEO of what?

a feminist watchdog newsletter

The New York Times

the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States

El Diario La Prensa is a influential and long-standing American newspaper.

Question 10 of 30

Rosalyn Yalow was awarded what for her work as a physicist?

the Pulitzer Prize

the Fields Medal

the Nobel Prize

The technique she helped develop measured small amounts of substances in the body.

Question 11 of 30

Vera Rubin is an American astronomer who made significant discoveries in dark matter research. What school did NOT accept her in its astronomy graduate program?

Cornell University

Princeton University

Princeton refused to accept women into the program until 1975, but Cornell and later Georgetown University were lucky to have Rubin complete her studies there.

Harvard University

Question 12 of 30

Eunice Kennedy Shriver started what organization?

the Special Olympics

It started as a day camp but now is a thriving international organization.

the Democratic Party

the ACLU

Question 13 of 30

Janet Rowley identified an important genetic breakthrough in leukemia research. When Rowley entered medical school in 1944, what was the "quota" for women in the class of 65 people?

three

Rowley had to wait nine months to enter medical school because three women were already in the program.

14

20

Question 14 of 30

Who was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature?

Alice Munro

Pearl S. Buck

Buck's novels on Chinese life won her the prize in 1938.

Toni Morrison

Question 15 of 30

Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross after organizing nursing and humanitarian efforts in what war?

the French and Indian War

the American Revolution

the American Civil War

In addition to the Civil War, Barton took part in relief efforts during the Spanish-American War and the Franco-German War.

Question 16 of 30

Ursula Burns is the first African-American CEO of what?

a technology firm

a Fortune 500 company

Burns was named chairwoman and CEO of Xerox in 2009.

a university

Question 17 of 30

Maya Lin designed what memorial?

the World Trade Center Memorial

the Washington Monument

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The 1982 memorial was controversial at the time but has proven a popular Washington spot.

Question 18 of 30

How old was Sybil Ludington when she rode 40 miles (64 kilometers) to rally the local militia against a British raid in the Revolutionary War?

16 years old

The teenager rode through the night to gather the men of Putnam County.

7 years old

22 years old

Question 19 of 30

Belva Lockwood was the first female lawyer to argue in front of the Supreme Court. What year did she do it?

1880

Lockwood did this in 1880. She also lobbied Congress to change the custom that only men could be admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court.

1945

1964

Question 20 of 30

Gloria Steinem founded what publication?

Cosmopolitan

Ms. Magazine

The feminist writer, activist and founder of Ms. Magazine is still politically active.

Glamour

Question 21 of 30

Lucy Stone was a famous suffragette and activist, but she also did what pioneering action?

refused to wear skirts

smashed bars in the temperance movement

kept her maiden name even after marrying

Keeping her maiden name after marrying seems like nothing now, but it was a bold move in 1855.

Question 22 of 30

Jody Williams won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work as an activist for what cause?

banning land mines

She founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which was named as a co-recipient for the award.

funding HIV research

brokering agreements between Israel and Palestine

Question 23 of 30

Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina woman to serve on the Supreme Court. How many women had served before her?

three

five

two

She was only the third woman to serve on the Court when she joined in 2009.

Question 24 of 30

Who was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court?

Elena Kagan

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sandra Day O'Connor

O'Connor was appointed in 1981.

Question 25 of 30

Who was the first American woman in space?

Eileen Collins

Sally Ride

In 1983 Ride became the first American woman to orbit Earth.

Kathryn Sullivan

Question 26 of 30

The first U.S. Secretary of State was …

Condoleezza Rice

Madeleine Albright

Albright served during Bill Clinton's last term.

Hillary Clinton

Question 27 of 30

Gertrude B. Elion was the co-recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for her research of cancer drug treatments. But she NEVER received what?

any money

a doctorate

Informed that she couldn't continue with doctorate study part-time, Elion chose to keep her position at a lab. She later received three honorary doctorates.

any prize

Question 28 of 30

Grace Hopper was a computer technology pioneer, but she was also responsible for what?

nicknaming computer errors "bugs"

Any unexplained glitch is a "bug" because a moth flew into the circuits of Hopper's machine one day and caused havoc.

the word "computer"

the delete key

Question 29 of 30

Toni Morrison was …

the first black best-selling author in the United States

the first African-American to chair a university department

the first black woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature

Morrison's 1993 prize was the first for a black female.

Question 30 of 30

Jackie Cochran was an American pilot who still …

holds more speed and distance records than any pilot

The first woman to break the sound barrier (among many firsts), Cochran is still a legend despite her career taking place in the mid-20th century.